Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-04-03

uauBnteT-d Uig-eytu. stTdtSub aAu uAN
sort or a girl, who was reared with the
utmost tenderness by the invalid mother.
She is the only daughter and tne
idol of family which has no"
become divided against itself. Bitter
quarrels have become so frequent tnat
the sons spend most OF their time at their
clubs and their father has become SORT
of recluse. The girl is mad on the ques-
ton of playing. Nearly four years ago
she appeared in an amateur dramatic
performance at the Union League thea
tire in aid OF a church charity. A few
weeks later her mother discovered that
the girl always went out on Tuesday and
Thursdays. One of the brothers
followed her and discovered thaI
she was spending her pin money on a
frowsy gentleman with long hair ana
greasy clothes, who devoted his time 10
preparing aspirants for the stage-terms,
SO an hour.v He lived in two rooms in
suspicious house in the dirtiest quarter
of Thirteenth street. Here the girl visit
ed him twice week and screamed
outlet" and Lady Macbeth" to an ad-
miring audience OF stage "mashers" ana
broken down actor friends OF the instruc-
tor. That was rather tough crowd ior
any girl to meet, but she thought them
the greatest of men. The name of actor
was more than enough to cover all their
shortcomings. She was hurried on 10
Europe, but six months tour did moth
ing but render her irascible and 1ll.tem-
peared She returned and joined the
phalanX of pretty fools who run up and
down Broadway in the afternoon TO get
glimpse of actors on parade and hirt with
them, or who haunt the stage doors OF
theatres on matinee days. Most OF them
affect W allack's and Daly's companies,
where the men are most noted for quail
ties that attract the stage-struck women.
1t gives me great pleasure TO say That,
despite their manifold opportunities, such
men as Kyrle Bellew, John Drew, Otis
Skinner and Herbert Kelsey are models
of correctness and prOpriety in the streets.
Though stared at hOtly, they have al
ways the manners of gentlemen when
abroad.
1t became evident to the family of
which 1 write that the girl would have to
have her fling. She was then permitted
to go to a school of acting under an as
sumed name, but she grew wild with the
companions she met there and she was
taken to Europe again. In London she
disappeared almost Immediately after her
arrival. Her mother was Frustrated with
grief and a great row kicked up. 1t was
not until seven days after that they
learned that she had taken train back
to Liverpool and shipped thence quietly
back to New York. She is determined TO
20 on the stage, and as her will cannot
be broken the family has decided to make
the best OF 1t, and we shall witness the
debut of another rich and aristocratlc
amateur on the professional stage next
fall.
went to the house a short time ago to
hear the girl recite. There were about a
score of people present, including man
aver with a shrewd, hooked nose and a
beaming and loving eye, and an over
dressed advance agent who atfec ted the
airs of society by the familiar stage de-
wees of pulling down his cuffs and inter-
jecting his conversation with such gems
as "betcher life," "dontcher know, dean
boy" and ga regular lum-tum affair"
The brothers were surly and fierce and
the father polite to his guests but exceed
ingly severe in manner. l was with the
Oldest OF the sons, and | never felt more
sympathy for any man than l did for
him, for he is man of the world, cogni-
Zant OF the life the girl is entering and
aware of the small basis for her fatuous
conceit. L nave heard great many
women recite, but few who had less
ability than the gIrl. She is not fitted in
any way for the stage, but on she goes,
nevertheless.
Mrs. Potter. though she has no trace of
genius, has a certain small capacity for
doing romantic roles. Measured accord
ing to the professional standard and
stripped Of her social reputation, she
would probably be set down as a second
rate stock actress. The stage fever Is a
! curious maladv. No one has yet found a
cure for it; the man who does will be
greater than Pasteur.